This invention relates to flashlights, and in particular to those flashlights wherein the light can be made to flash on and off.
It is common for hunters to set up tree stands from which to wait for the animal being hunted to pass by. Once a tree stand is set up that way, it is desirable to leave it at dusk, and return to it before dawn the next day to begin hunting again. It is advantageous to return to the tree stand before dawn so as to already be in position to begin hunting with the first light of dawn. It is often difficult, however, to find one's tree stand in the pre-dawn darkness. One can of course use a conventional flashlight, so that one doesn't trip over obstacles on the way, but that doesn't solve the problem of finding the particular tree on which the stand is mounted.
There have been in the past flashlights and other portable lights which could be turned on and set to flash, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,695,403, 4,323,879 and 4,835,665. None of these portable lights, though, are capable of starting flashing at a predetermined time, without operator intervention at the time the flashing is desired. They could be turned on and left flashing in the tree stand all night, but that would be wasteful of battery power.
This invention relates to improvements over the apparatus set forth above and to solutions to the problems raised or not solved thereby.